Arjuna Award is India’s second highest sporting honour. Started in 1961, the Arjuna Awards are given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to recognize outstanding achievement in sports. Since then five sports persons from Assam had been awarded with this prestigious award.

1. Bhogeswar Baruah:

Bhogeswar Baruah was the first athlete from Assam to be honored with the Arjuna Award, receiving it in 1966. He achieved a gold medal in the 800-meter race at the 1966 Asian Games held in Bangkok. To celebrate his contributions, Assam observes his birthday, September 3, as Abhiruchi Sports Day.

2. Monalisa Baruah Mehta:

The second Assamese recipient of the Arjuna Award was table tennis champion Monalisa Baruah Mehta, who earned the accolade in 1987. Married to fellow table tennis player Kamalesh Mehta, Monalisa was a dominant figure in Indian table tennis, securing the state championship 12 times and the national championship eight times.

3. Jayanta Talukdar:

Jayanta Talukdar, an elite archer, became the third sportsperson from Assam to win the Arjuna Award in 2006, following Bhogeswar Baruah and Monalisa Baruah Mehta. He was also part of India's men's recurve archery team at the 2012 London Olympics.

4. Shiva Thapa:

Boxer Shiva Thapa, a bronze medalist at the World Championships, became the fourth Assamese to receive the Arjuna Award in 2016. He was the only boxer recommended for the award that year and was the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

5.  Hima Das:

The most recent addition to the list of Assamese Arjuna Awardees is Hima Das, who received the award in 2020. Known as India’s track queen, she is the second athlete from Assam, after Bhogeswar Baruah, to be honored with this prestigious award.